Hitchhiking in Europe - features of hitchhiking in France
Follow-up to the previous post about cheerful and relaxed hitchhiking in Thailand. Inspired, so to speak.
We also had a chance to hitchhike, to look at the roads of France from the side of hitchhikers. And what can I say - there is hitchhiking here, although it is slowly being replaced by covoiturage.
Covoiturage is a form of transportation, when the driver and passengers discount on gasoline and to pay for roads. There are special sites for this, where you can find each other. Moreover, it is so popular that the proposals of the drivers are snapped up like burning cakes. We were unable to leave Grenoble this way, everything was already taken. Some drivers even make money this way, set the price higher than the cost of the road, and drive back and forth..
The first time we entered the track, we stood up as usual with a raised hand in anticipation of the car. And they stood like that for 1.5 hours. It's strange, because hitchhiking in Europe should be much more developed than in Russia, and they even thought to be upset, because there were still 800 km ahead of us.
Hitchhiker's Guide to Europe
France. Hitchhiker's Guide to Europe
However, at the next stop, we met a French hitchhiker, and he taught us to stop correctly, in French. And it consisted in a little theatricalization of their actions. You need to wave your hands, smile, laugh, make fun of, referring to the drivers, wave a sign at them, and dance a little. Unusually a little, but much more fun and warmer. After all, November is already cold for hitchhiking.
We do not stand in pillars! Moving!
We do not stand in pillars! Moving!
We do not stand in pillars! Moving!
France. Hitchhiker's Guide to Europe
I almost forgot, in France there are signs in the course where you have to write the name of the city where you are going. Or even better than those settlements that are found along the road. Thus, there is a greater chance of getting the driver you need..
In fact, there are also completely opposite situations, proving that hitchhiking in France is alive. We were picked up by a car, in which there were already 3 people, and even a dog. At the same time, they called their friends to find out if they would go to the city of Lyon, and if they would take us.
Hitchhiking on the Autobahn or regular road?
Since there are toll and free roads in France, the style of travel on them is different..
Toll roads are autobahns, on which pedestrians are prohibited to move, which means that you cannot stand on the side of the road either. And special cars are constantly driving, checking whether everything is in order on the road, including the presence of pedestrians. The only valid locations are gas stations, parking lots, and toll booths (p? Age). But in fact, it is really possible to stand only on the latter, since parking lots and gas stations are rare.
Hitchhiking in Europe - cost near Peage
The restrictions are related to the safety of people. There is even a joke: a pedestrian on the Autobahn does not live longer than 15 minutes. It was told to us by a man who once worked in the road service and who picked us up right on the Autobahn..
Figures (p? Age) are located at the entrances and exits to the Autobahn. Accordingly, we need exactly the entrances. This is the main disadvantage of moving along the autobahns. All traffic goes by you. Since you are just standing at the entrance to the autobahn from some locality, and not straight on the road. And if this point is full, and there are 1.5 cars per hour, then there is every chance to hang there for a long time. So learn to dance! A good hitchhiker is a dancing hitchhiker!
Traveling on free roads is very similar to the situation in Russia. Stay on the sidelines for as long as you like and wait for the car. But for long distances, the French, as a rule, drive on the autobahns, and therefore here they will most likely have to be content with short dashes, or rely on a driver who wants to save money. There is one more small disadvantage of this option - the road network is very extensive, without a good and detailed map, you can go to hell. There are also a lot of small and not very small settlements along the road. In this regard, autobahns win - a straight road with normal speed limits, no cities, no traffic lights, and with drivers traveling far.
Language barrier in France
It so happened that none of the drivers who gave us a lift spoke English. More precisely, one spoke, but very badly. There is an opinion that the French on principle do not like to speak English, even if they know it. We have not yet encountered this, but the fact is that not everyone knows English, despite the fact that this is Europe, there is.
In our case, everything was much simpler - Daria knows French. So I just had to sit next to the furniture and look out the window while she chirped merrily with the drivers. So if you know French, then all the cards are in your hands, and besides, you will learn so many interesting things..
Daria: We came across very friendly, inquisitive and sociable drivers, the conversations were so exciting that every time I was in a hurry to ask a new question, constantly promising Oleg that «right now, right now, I'll translate you», but the topic gradually swam from one to another, and often I retell most of the conversation to Oleg while waiting for the next car. Well, how not to ask that, when our first driver was a military man who was returning after another parachute jumps (this is his hobby that brings him extra points in the service), the second told us about how he «boatstop» (swam across the ocean with a foot), a young mother shared her parenting experience in France, a taster in a restaurant taught us how to make money on what you are dragging on through life, and a shop window collector and traveler, who at 52 looked 40 years old, told a lot interesting things about my life and about the peculiarities of France. How can you not love hitchhiking after that??!
A military man who loves parachuting
Very cool guy, and he's over 50 years old!
The taster who took us to Grenoble
I hope someone will find this information useful regarding hitchhiking in Europe, and in particular France. And although we hung out a couple of times on the road for a couple of hours, we are very pleased with the trip and the experience.